It is known to provide collapsible boat hulls incorporating a pair of hinge interconnected bottom panels and a pair of side panels hinged to the bottom panels. Such boats can be collapsed and folded along the hinging edges of the panels into a substantially flat configuration.
Some collapsible boat hulls are provided with a prow at either end of the hull, avoiding having a stern transom member. However, more typically collapsible boat hulls are also provided with some form of stern member functioning as a transom, and seats removably mounted onto the boat hull when the boat hull is in an erected configuration.
Some collapsible boat hulls have rigid transoms, which may be stern panels hinged to the sides panels, such that two transom panels hinge from the respective side panels to overlap and provide a transom at the stern of the boat
Others collapsible boats are provided with diaphragms to prevent ingress of water past the transom panel(s). The diaphragm can accommodate rigid panels, which rigidify and stabilise the diaphragm when an outboard motor is mounted thereon.
It has been realised that simply providing a rigid transom member, whilst forming a stern to the boat hull, does not aid rigidity of the hull unless effective mounting is provided that allows the transom to be readily mounted to the unfolded hull and readily removed to allow the hull to be collapsed for transport, and once mounted in position in the hull also provides support to the hull and has effective retention means.
Provision is generally also made to mount an outboard motor on the transom. It is necessary that the transom is sufficiently strong and mounted sufficiently well to the hull in order to transfer forces from the outboard motor in the hull for propulsion.
It is also known to provide removable seating that is installed into the boat hull to brace the sides of the boat as well as to provide seating.
Often a collapsible boat will need to be erected and put into the water by one person. Having a transom and seating that can be readily installed and removed by that one person would be of great practical benefit to the user.
Seating for known collapsible boats often requires latch bolts or other catches that are relatively tricky to use, particularly singlehandedly. Installing seats often requires both sides of the seat to be latched at the same time. Releasing seats from the hull can also require releasing latches/bolts at both sides of the boat before the seat can be lifted out of the hull. Known latches/bolts arrangements have been found to be cumbersome and awkward to use, particularly for one person erecting/collapsing the boat on their own.
The present invention attempts to address at least in part some of the aforementioned disadvantages.